Oxyclean and wet tumbling

[abunaitoo]

Was tumbling some brass today.
While waiting for the water to get hot, saw a tub of Oxyclean.
Stuff works good, so I thought why not try some.
9mm shell full, same as the Lemi shine and liquid car wax.
Let it run for about two hours.
NOT GOOD!!!!!!
It left some kind of film on the shells.
Didn't get all that clean.
Retumbled with only Lemi shine and car wax, and it came out fine.
So Qxyclean didn't work.
But I had to try.

[Bazoo]

Thanks for the test.

[XDROB]

Thanks for the test.

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[Hawks Feather]

I appreciate the update. My wife has some by the sink and I thought about using it a couple of times.

[ChuckO]

Oxyclean breaks down into washing soda and oxygen when wet. A sure fire way to tarnish brass while tumbling it.

[mdi]

Thanks. Sometimes the "really good stuff" ain't so good for other uses...

[kevin c]

Now we know. Thanks for posting what didn't work out. All too often it's considered not worth posting, but it will save others the effort.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Kinda wondered about that stuff. Thanks for beta testing that!

Ya never know till you try and someone had to be the first to discover everything we know today!

[1hole]

It left some kind of film on the shells. Didn't get all that clean. Retumbled with only Lemi shine and car wax, and it came out fine. So Qxyclean didn't work. But I had to try.

Your cases weren't "all that clean" or just didn't have a highly polished shine?

[abunaitoo]

They were not as clean and shiny as normal.
Kind of a greasy feel to it.
After I re-did them, all was good.

[Slugster]

Thank you abunaitoo for the information. I'm in the middle of building my own tumbler because I don't like the looks of commercial units. They mostly look cheap and I don't know about how long they will last. Besides that I have all of the materials (in spades) to do tinkering in my shop. I had given some thought to oxy-clean in the tumbler. Glad you posted the info, it will save me time in not repeating your results.

Work or fail... there is knowledge to be learned in all attempts.

[abunaitoo]

So far I've had the best luck with Lemi shine and the liquid car wash/wax.
Don't remember what brand wash/wax it was.
Was so old the roaches ate the lable.
It's purple.
Use a 9mm shell as a measure.
One of lemi shine, two of wash/wax.
Depending on how clean i want the brass, two hours tumbling.
At least that's how I do it.
Trying to gather parts to make a drier for the shells.

[nanuk]

I have a Lyman cyclone unit with the rubber lined tub

I've been having issues.
I think it is to do with the "Nu Finish" car wash/wax stuff

it leaves a horrible black grease on EVERYTHING

I used a mix of Citric Acid 1Tbsp, Nu Finish 1tsp, Dawn Dish detergent 1tsp. NOT good.

still working on a mix that removes the grease, and then I'll try to find something to use from the start.

[abunaitoo]

Are you using really hot water????
I've found that I need hot water to break down the case lube.
Unless using the Lee water based lube.
I mix it with alcohol in a spray bottle, stand cased up on a screen pan I made up, spray and let dry.
Deprime/size, and drop into the tumbler.
Add Dawn, Lemi shine, auto wash and wax, pins/bits and really hot water.
Works for me anyway.

[pjh421]

Scrubbing Bubbles, Lemi-Shine and hot water.

[megasupermagnum]

Good to know, thanks. I have not experimented much with the wet tumbler. As long as I use enough steel pins, it seems to do clean the cases fine, and all I do is add some dawn dish soap which seems get any case lube or other gunk off. Maybe I should try something though, as it takes 1-2 hours for a wet tumbler, where my ultrasonic cleaner did the same job in about 20 minutes.

[RidgerunnerAk]

Oxiclean is a peroxide type compound so is a relatively strong oxidizer. It's great to add 1/2tsp into dish pan full of uber greasy dishes - you'll never see or feel cleaner dishes. It's also an excellent stain remover for carpet and really works wonders on anything blood-stained such as clothing, game bags, etc. It's true intended use is as an addition to laundry detergent in a washing machine, for which is very well suited. It's not made to clean metal in any way, and certainly not metal that can be oxidized, though I've never had it oxidize or rust any metal.